The Peru FTA will likely be voted on in the House on Wednesday, November 7. Please write your representative today – or call if you've already written – to make sure he or she votes NO!

Dear Fair Trade Supporter,

Despite concern from the newly elected members of Congress who won their campaigns by talking about fair trade [1], the Democratic leadership has called a full House vote on Bush's NAFTA expansion to Peru tomorrow – Wednesday, November 7.

In tandem with U.S.-Peru Trade Coalition co-chairs Chevron, Wal-Mart and Citigroup, the Bush administration has been pressing Democrats to vote for the Peru "free trade" agreement (FTA). But in classic Bush fashion, the administration has just released a letter threatening to veto funding to retrain and reemploy workers who lose their jobs as a result of bad trade agreements!

The Bush administration is making clear with its veto threat that it's business as usual: more NAFTA expansions and too bad for the many workers who will be hurt.

We need to make sure our congresspeople stand up to the Bush administration and call for an end to the NAFTA model and the Peru FTA.

Please take action today to make sure your representative votes NO!

Three Steps to Take Now to Stop NAFTA Expansion to Peru: Send an email to your representative to let him or her know that Bush's NAFTA expansion to Peru is a danger to workers, the environment and democracy both here and in Peru. http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=12561 Call your representative right now to demand that he or she vote "NO" on the Peru FTA. http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=11355 Then spread the word! Forward this email to your friends, family and fellow activists TODAY!

Earlier this spring, some Democratic leaders made a deal to add labor and environmental standards to the Bush-negotiated NAFTA expansion to Peru. They hoped that this would launch a new bipartisan approach on trade agreements that could lead to better deals. Not a single U.S. labor, environmental, consumer, faith or family farm group supports this modified deal because it replicates the worst provisions of NAFTA and the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Peru's labor unions and a prominent Peruvian Archbishop also oppose the deal because of the damage it will cause there.

The Peru FTA contains many dangerous and flawed provisions. If implemented, it will

• weaken imported food and product safety protections
• potentially lock in Peru's failed social security privatization
• devastate the environmentally sensitive Peruvian Amazon basin

With all of those outrageous outcomes foreseeable, we need to make sure we do everything possible to build up the "no" votes against this offensive NAFTA expansion. You can help make sure that congressional Democrats do not hand President Bush a victory on one of his legislative priorities – a priority that will hurt most people while empowering Bush's corporate buddies to exploit people here and in Peru.

Let's stop the NAFTA model – write and call your representative today. We'll keep you updated as the vote draws closer, but we need your voice now!

Thanks for all that you do,

David Edeli
Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch

[1] Jonathan E. Kaplan, "Freshman Dems Revolt on Free Trade," The Hill, November 6, 2007.